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The leading Danish hearing aid technology developer and manufacturer, Oticon is launching a new HearingFitness™ app later this year which is designed to help Oticon Opn wearer’s understand their “hearing fitness” and how their lifestyle & hearing aid usage could be impacting their overall health and wellbeing.

The new app will be available to wearers of the award-winning Oticon Opn™, the first internet-connected hearing aid which utilises the IFTTT (if-this-then-that) service to seamlessly connect a user to a variety of trigger-based services.

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This week Adam Shulberg talks about the relationship between hearing and cognition.

Cognition is a term referring to the brain processes involved in acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experiences and the senses.

We live in an organised world of sound where cognition, attention, memory and the sense of hearing interact. Each plays a crucial role in listening. The direct relationship between hearing and cognition affects how well we use our hearing to function in everyday life.

When we experience hearing loss and communication difficulties, participating in conversation requires use of more of our cognitive resources. Although it may appear that the communication problems experienced is due to hearing loss alone, often this is not the primary issue and there are underlying cognitive factors that need consideration.

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We wanted to share an article written by The Telegraph about the current state of mental health and ways you can look to improve your mental health. One in 10 teenage girls are being referred to NHS specialist mental health services and one in three GP sick notes are for mental health reasons, but we are now in a time of great change for mental health.

There is a much greater awareness of mental health and whilst the health industry is much better equipped to help those suffering, the article discusses putting some of the onus back onto self-care regimes.

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What happens to our mental capabilities and our composure when we become dizzy or disorientated?

Cubex Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist, Mr Jeremy Corcoran is currently involved in a study that explores if and how some of our mental capabilities (particularly our spatial reasoning abilities) and our composure (the balance of our autonomic nervous system) are affected by dizziness caused by mismatching visual and vestibular signals. Mr Corcoran has already completed two large studies which have looked into this. For scientific robustness, he is completing another study in this area to see if he can replicate his previous results once again.

If you are interested, and have not previously suffered with dizziness, we would like to invite you to take part in the study. We will measure your problem-solving capabilities and your fight-or-flight response while you are spun around in a motorised chair built by the Royal Air Force.

Before you decide, we would like you to understand why the research is being done and what it would involve for you. The study has been fully approved by the University of Westminster. Please take your time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with friends, family and your GP if you wish. We would be happy to go through the information sheet with you and answer any questions you have. Ask us if there is anything that is not clear.Read more…

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At the last Just Breathe London Grand Gathering, Mr Adam Shulberg, Managing Director and Senior Audiologist from Cubex spoke about hearing, cognition and the health precautions we should all consider now to ensure our long term cognitive well-being.

Cubex recently started the UK’s first Mindfulness Based Auditory Cognitive Treatment Pathway to support individuals experiencing reduced hearing ability, tinnitus and cognitive fatigue. In addition to bringing mindfulness into the clinical environment we also partnered with the UK’s first Modern Mindfulness & Mass Meditation community, Just Breathe London to create a space to breath & positively affect the cultural fabric and cognitive health of our city. It provides a place for community, connection & culture with the vision to create an oasis of space amidst London’s hustle and bustle.

At each event real world relevance of a mindful way of living is shared. At each and every Grand Gathering, our community of experts in the medical, health & well being sector share some wise words.

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Every day we apply cognitive energy to navigate through our auditory world, especially when living in a loud, chaotic, fast paced city like London. For the most part we are unaware of the mental skills and effort involved. However, as our natural ability to hear starts to reduce, we become even more reliant on our cognitive skills to make sense of the world and this increases the load on our brains which is why it comes as no surprise that untreated audiological conditions can lead to anxiety, stress, depression, poorer communication and eventual isolation.

Repeated experiences of stress is actually damaging for brain health and halts the birth of new neurons. Fortunately, our brains have the remarkable ability to change and form new healthy neural connections, we call this neuroplasticity.

The act of mindfulness and regular meditation practice promotes the relaxation response in the brain and has the potential to encourage new neural network connections and reduce the levels of anxiety and stress that are usually associated with hearing loss and tinnitus.(1)It increases our capacity to notice what is happening around us, giving us a fuller perspective on the present moment and can help us improve our attention and ability to concentrate and focus on something specific while ignoring distractions. It enables us to intentionally shape the direction of our plasticity and change the way we respond to life’s challenges. Simply put, we can use our thoughts and our breath to positively influence our mental & physical physiology.

There are a variety of Meditation techniques, styles and guidelines to help put the mind at ease, increase mental clarity and improve cognitive reserve in the most effective way. There are a few easy and accessible practices that are relevant for the modern man or women. In this article we speak to Cubex Clinical Mindfulness & Wellness Programmes Facilitator, Michael James Wong about the small steps that we can take to start a process of cultivating well-being.Read more…

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We are excited to share our recent interview with The Marylebone Journal. Deputy Editor, Viel Richardson caught up with Cubex Audiologist, Jerusha Shulberg to talk about cognitive function and the reasons why it is vital to understand its role in audiology especially when treating hearing loss.

As there is currently no way to completely restore a persons hearing when they experience a sensory neural hearing loss, hearing technology is used as a means to deliver sound to the brain, but sometimes, patients may still find it difficult to navigate their auditory world and to communicate with ease. This is where understanding the cognitive component becomes crucial.

As Cubex Audiologists, we are mindful that in order for us to be able help individuals make positive lifestyle changes we need to build a cognitive reserve, improve hearing and strengthen the ability to communicate.

It is vital to understand not simply what you are hearing, but also how well you process the complex information our brain receives from our surroundings and so we have developed a relaxed and innovative way to truly understand a persons hearing ability and unique cognitive skill sets. This approach allows us to provide our patients with a real awareness of their current state of living and enables us to provide the best possible support and the greatest improvement in their communication skills.

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According to an international study in the Lancet, one in three cases of dementia could be prevented if more people looked after their brain health throughout life.

It is currently estimated that 47 million people are living with Dementia at the moment. By 2050, This number could reach 131 million people globally.

The study explores the lifestyle factors that play a major role in reducing the risk of dementia and examines the benefits of building a “cognitive reserve”, which means strengthening the brain’s networks so it can continue to function in later life despite damage.

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Sitting at a desk all day can wreak havoc on the body. The human skeleton, with its 206 bones, and 112 joints that facilitate movement of this structure, is literally designed to move. However finding the time, and perhaps more crucially, the energy to move more can be difficult. Start off slowly, aiming to add 10-15 minutes of extra movement into your day, throughout the week and weekend, and you may find that your energy levels start to improve. Increase the duration of your activity as you start to feel the benefit of using your body how it’s been designed to be used!!